The museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons has just opened an art gallery, and players that want to fill it will need to purchase a variety of different paintings and sculptures from Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler. However, not every artwork in the shady fox's inventory is legitimate, and this guide will instruct players on how to tell the difference between the real and fake versions of the Scary Painting in ACNH.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Scary Painting is based on a woodblock print created by Tōshūsai Sharaku in 1794. The original print is called Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko Edobei, and it depicts a kabuki actor assuming a role from a play titled The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife. For players that are trying to determine the authenticity of a Scary Painting in ACNH, they should turn their attention the actor's eyebrows.
More specifically, if the subject's eyebrows slant up towards the middle then it is a fake Scary Painting. However, if his eyebrows slant down towards the middle then it is a real Scary Painting, and it is suitable for exhibition in Animal Crossing: New Horizons' museum art gallery. Here is an image that highlights these differences, and players that reference it should have little trouble determining if an ACNH Scary Painting is a forgery or not.
Of course, the Scary Painting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the artworks that are now available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and fans should make sure to scrutinize everything that Redd has on offer closely. Those fans that do not heed this warning risk wasting their hard-earned Bells and ending up with fake paintings in ACNH.
Fortunately, there are quite a number of ways to earn Bells fast in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and thus players should not be too concerned if they accidentally pay for a forgery. Indeed, while it may not feel stellar to be duped by Redd's trickery, it is easy enough to make any Bells that were spent on a fake back by playing the Stalk Market and selling rare bugs and fish.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for the Nintendo Switch.